Traveling loom cleaner



Nov. 23, 1954 G. B. HOLTZCLAW TRAVELING LOOM CLEANER 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fil ed Jan. 22. 1952 Nov. 23, 1954 a B HOLTZCLAW 2,695,039

TRAVELING LOOM CLEANER Filed Jan. 22, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 23, 1954 G. a. HOLTZCLAW TRAVELING LOOM CLEANER 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 22, 1952 MW NW IOM Nov. 23, 1954 G. B. HOLTZCLAW 2,695,039

TRAVELING LOOM CLEANER Filed Jan. 22, 1952 '6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 23, 1954 a. B. HOLTZCLAW 2,695,039

TRAVELING LOOM CLEANER Filed Jan. 22. 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent Ofiice TRAVELING LGOM CLEANER Grover l5. Holtzclaw, Charlotte, N. C., assignor to Parks- Cram-er Company, Fitchburg, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 22, 1952, Serial No. 267,637 13 (Ilaims. (Cl. 1391) This invention relates to a traveling cleaner for textile looms acting to blow thereof and to prevent the accumulation thereon of lint and other foreign particles present during the operation of the looms. Such material if allowed to accumulate will not only impair the operation of the mechanisms of the loom itself but will also injure the fabric when it drops thereon during weaving. The yarns forming the fabric extend close together widthwi-se of the loom throughout the entire width of the fabric and present a more or less horizontally disposed wide resting place for lint and other foreign substances. Removal of such substances is difiicult and particularly so in cases where the yarn contains sizing which renders them adherent to such lint and foreign substances. When sizing material is used it collects more or less upon surfaces of the loom mechanism itself rendering them also adherent to lint and foreign substances.

Such machines as textile looms present further problems to cleaning by a traveling blower, first, because the yarns and the fabric being woven are necessarily located at a low height from the floor to enable the operative to reach over and inspect the yarns entering into the fabric and enable any of them readily to be pieced together when broken during the weaving operation; second, because the track supporting the traveling cleaner and the traveling cleaner itself must be located well above head height to protect the operative in moving about the looms; third, because the air discharged by the traveling cleaner must reach this low height of the parts to be cleaned, from the greater height of the cleaner itself where it is discharged, so concentrated and.

with such velocity as efliciently to perform the cleaning action; fourth, because the cleaning action of the air discharged from the cleaner must take place not only in the direction of the travel of the cleaner transversely of the loom but also throughout practically the entire length of the loom from the point where the warp yarns enter to the point where the woven fabric is completely formed; fifth, because many of the elements of the loom, such as the drop wires, heddles, and reed dents, to be kept clean present closely spaced surfaces not readily accessible; sixth, because the confined blast of air discharging from the cleaner at high velocity required for the cleaning operation must not impinge upon and render ineffective or disturb the operation of delicate mechanisms such, for example, as filling feelers commonly employed, not interfere with the manipulation of the yarns where they extend free or under light tension; and, seventh, looms are subject to heavy vibration due to the essential mechanism of the loom where the heavy lay oscillates or is reciprocated rapidly for and aft coming to a full stop at the end of each reciprocation and where the shuttle is similarly picked back and forth in a transverse direction. Moreover, this vibration is transferred from the loom to the floor and would normally be transferred'from the floor and the loom to the track supporting the cleaner and thereby to the traveling cleaner itself causing wear and tear upon the track and the workin}; parts of the cleaner and impairing their efiiciency.

The present invention has for its primary object to provide a traveling cleaner apparatus and a method of operation for overcoming these and other problems in the cleaning of the looms.

The object of the invention is further to provide a traveling cleaner which will maintainrthe looms sufficiently clean and free from lint and foreign particles 2. efliciently and for longperiods of time to improve the production and quality of the fabric.

The object of the invention isfurther to provide a traveling cleaner which will discharge a confined blast of air at the high velocity required for the cleaning action continuously sweeping fore and aft of the loom as the cleaner travels transversely of the loom.

The object of the invention is further to provide for the temporary shifting or the limiting of the extent of oscillation of the blast of air so that during the travel of the cleaner it will not impinge upon predetermined specific areas of the loom where its effect would be deleterious.

The object of the invention is further to provide in a traveling cleaner a means for producing the discharge of the air in a confined column at high velocity.

The object of the invention is further to provide a means and a method for minimizing or rendering negligible the transfer of vibration from the floor or loom to the track and the traveling cleaner moving thereon.

These and other objects and features of the invention will appear more fully from the accompanying description and drawings and will be pointed out in the claims.

The drawings illustrate preferred forms of apparatus embodying and for carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation, partially broken away, of a loom, a track and two traveling cleaners;

F Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 3 is a detail in side elevation on a larger scale of another form of oscillating means;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 3;

5 is a top plan view of the construction shown in 1g.

Fig. 6 is a detail in bottom plan view illustrating a nozzle oscillating mechanism shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 7, and 8;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation cleaners;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation, partly broken away and partially in vertical cross section, of the traveling cleaner shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the arrangement for supporting the traveling cleaners and minimizing vibration in connection with a series of looms;

Fig. 10 is a detail, partially in vertical cross section and partially broken away, of one of the vertical posts for supporting the track and braces illustrated in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a detail, partially in transverse section, of one of the posts supporting the track from a loom arch as shown in Pig. 9.

A typical loom is shown sufiiciently for the purposes of disclosing the present invention. The side frames 1 of the loom are mounted, as usual, on the floor 2 and are connected by a transverse arch 3. The sheet of warp yarns 4 are shown running from the warp beam 5 through drop wires 6 and the heddles of heddle frames '7 through a reed carried by the lay it and thence over the breast beam 9 to the cloth roll 10. A battery 11 containing the supply of filling wound bobbins 12 and a filling fork 13 such as employed in automatic looms are also indicated. No further illustration of a typical loom is necessary for the present purposes.

The traveling cleaners move along a track of suitable type supported above and in alinement with a series of alined looms. Such a track may take any suitable form, but is herein shown as comprising a series of U-shaped brackets 14 upon which are mounted parallel rails 15. This track is supported from the floor and from the loom arches at the required height.

Either one or two traveling cleaners may be employed depending upon the specific character of the looms. One traveling cleaner may be sulficient where the column of air discharged from the oscillating nozzle can sweep over all the areas to be cleaned but where the mechanism of the loom is complicated, as for example by the employment of several heddle frames, two traveling cleaner units are desirably arranged so that the column of one of the traveling of air discharged from the oscillating nozzle of the one Patented Nov. 23, 1954 3 will sweep over the front portion of the loom and the column of air discharged from the oscillating nozzle of the other will sweep over the rear portion of the loom. Two such traveling cleaners are illustrated, but as the construction and operation of each is the same it is only necessary to describe in detail that of one.

The traveling cleaner comprises a suitable frame, indicated generally at 16, supported on wheels 17 at one side and 18 and 19 at the other side resting on the rails 15 of the track. This frame carries a casing 20 into the enlarged portion 39 of which air is drawn centrally by a fan and discharged tangentially down therefrom in a confined column through a nozzle 21 pivotally mounted at 22 on the casing and oscillated as the cleaner moves along the track so that the column of air discharging from the nozzle sweeps over the looms fore and aft.

In the preferred construction illustrated a single motor is employed to move the cleaner along the track to. rotate the fan, and to oscillate the nozzle. This motor 30 has its shaft 31 extending horizontally and journaled in the frame 16. The motor is operated in a similar manner to that disclosed in the patent to Hodge et al. No. 2,011,763 August 20, 1935, by electric current carried on insulated conducting rails 32 and taken therefrom by brushes 33 and transmitted through the conductor 34.

The motor shaft 31 is shown as driving through beveled gears 35, a vertical shaft 36 journaled in the frame 16 and which in turn drives the wheels for propelling the unit along the track. Preferably for this purpose a similar mechanism to that disclosed in the Hodge et al. Patent No. 2,011,763 is employed and as it forms no part of this invention reference to that patent for the details may be had. This mechanism enclosed in the gear box 37 at the bottom of the frame contains driving and reversing mechanism for the wheels 17 so that the unit may either be propelled constantly in one direction or automatically caused to travel first in one directionand then in another as may be required.

The fan employed in this invention has two important characteristics. First, it is so constructed and mounted as to produce a very powerful blast of air and discharge it in a column through the nozzle, and, second, it is so constructed and mounted as to be practically self-cleaning, that is, lint or other particles drawn inward of the casing by the fan do not readily adhere thereto and therefore do not interfere appreciably with its operation. The fan is mounted on an extension 38 of the motor shaft journaled in the frame 16 and is surrounded by an enlarged cylindrical portion 39 of the casing having fiat ends. This portion of the casing has ings, first, a circular opening 40 concentric with the axis of the fan in a fiat end of the casing, which. opening may be made adjustable or provided with a damper, and, second, an opening into the tangentially extending generally tubular portion-41 to which the-nozzle21 is pivoted. Thus the air is drawn centrally into the casing and discharged down through the nozzle.

The preferred type of fan illustrated is of the centrifugal paddle type comprising a plurality of radially positioned blades 42 flanged at the back 43 and riveted to a circular disk 44. The free edges of these blades are preferably curved, as shown at out to the edge of the opening 40. Consequently, as the fan rotates air trapped between the blades is driven centrifugally outward and leaves the blades and enters the nozzle at a high velocity. Any flying lint or particles drawn from the air in the room by the fan into the air stream strikes the curved edges of the moving blades or the interior surfaces of the housing and are immediately swept off.- This type of fan therefore operates with a higher degree of efliciency both in producing a powerful blast of air and in preventing any accumulation of lint or other particles therein oradjacent thereto. In special cases where the flying particles may be of size or character harmful to the product, the opening 40 may be provided with a screen.

The fiat end face of the fan casing 39 is shown as consisting mainly of an annular door 46 hinged at 47 to enable ready access to be had to the fan casing.

The oscillation of the nozzle 21 which causes the powerful blast of air discharged in a column therethrough to sweep transversely of the track and fore and aft over the loom may be effected by any suitable means.

I the construction illustrated the motor 30.,prop els the unit along the track by driving the wheels 1'] and therebut two open-.

45, from adjacent thefan axis.

4 fore causes the wheels 18 and 19, which are idlers, continuously to rotate.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 the idler 19 is made of a relatively large size and has secured thereto an eccentric 50. This eccentric acts continuously to rock a lever 51 fulcrumed at 52 on the frame and this lever is connected by an adjustable link 53 also adjustable lengthwise of the lever and by the universal joint connection 54 to an arm 55 secured to the nozzle. Thus by this, or any suitable means, both the magnitude of the are through which the nozzle oscillates and the position of this are may readily be adjusted to suit the requirement of the particular cleaning action desired.

A further important feature of the invention enables the blast of air discharged from the nozzle temporarily to be positioned so as to avoid any undesired impingement of the discharging air upon a specific area of the loom. This is important because the blast of air necessary for effective cleaning may affect or stop the operation of the loom if it impinges upon some specific area, such for example, as that where the filling fork or the bobbin battery is located. The invention provides for temporarily preventing such impingement of the discharging blast of air upon any such area by maintaining the nozzle within its oscillation where such impingement cannot take place. For this purpose there is preferably provided, as illustrated, a cam surface or cam-shaped projection 56 on the lever 51 cooperating with a pin 57 which is adjustably mounted in a fixed position and preferably at a desired point on the track. This pin is so positioned and the cam surface so shaped that when in the travel of the cleaner the lever comes into engagement with the pin the lever will be raised, thus preventing movement of the nozzle to its outermost position independently of the eccentric 50 and even maintaining. the nozzle fixedly in its innermost position if desired. This limitation is maintained as long as the flat portion of the cam surface rides on the pin. Thusthe cam and pin tem-v porarily take control partially or wholly. away from the eccentric 50, preventing its the nozzle to a position where the blast of air will not impinge upon a desired area of the loom. By settingthe pin higher or lower on the track the limit of the outward movement of the nozzle may be temporarily determined.

The cam-shaped projection 56 is preferably. made as.

a separate portion of the lever 51 and adjustably connected at its ends thereto as by the pin and slot connections 58, thus enabling the shape of the cam to be changed as desired, and the extent of the limiting of the oscillation and the duration thereof to be adjustedeither by adjusting the cam projection on the lever or substituting cam projections of different shape.

In the case of the cleaning of some types of looms it maynot be necessary to prevent the impingement of the blast upon any particular area thereof and in such a case a simpler construction such as that illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 for continuously oscillating the nozzle may be employed. Here the idler wheel 60 on thetrack adjacent the nozzle, corresponding to the idler- 18, is made of large size and provided Witha projecting crank pin 61. A two-part link adjustable in length at 62' jointed at 63 is connected by a universal joint 64 toan arm 65'.

in turn adjustably connected at 66 to a slotted bracket 67 mounted on the nozzle 21. Thus the position of the arc of oscillation of the nozzle and the extent ofits.

oscillation is readily adjustable.

In some weave rooms the looms, above and in almement with which the track is located and upon which the cleaner travels when operating, areinconstant vibration due to the essential characteristicsof the mechanism particularly the continual operation of the shuttle picking motion. Not only 13 the entire loom frame set in vibration, but this vibration is transmitted to the floor upon which the loom rests. Since the track is supported from the floor, and preferably in part from the arch of the loom frame-also, and since the track must be supported well above head height for the convenience of the operatives, thls vibration if transmitted to the track and therethrough to the cleaner traveling thereon would impair not only the etficient operation of the cleaner, but would produce wear and tear both of the track, the mechan sm of the cleaner, and the electric mechanism employed. The n vention provides a method and construction for so mimnormal movement or shifting.

andrapid fore and aft oscilla tion of the heavy lay and the transverse-rapid continuous.

itnizing the effect of this vibration as in practice to render it practically negligible.

The track is normally supported by a series of long vertical posts mounted upon the floor upon which the looms are supported and preferably a series of shorter auxiliary posts mounted upon the arches of the looms together with inclined braces extending from the floor to some or all of the main posts. When, as customary, the looms serviced by the cleaner are arranged in two series with the series in parallelism, the track is an endless structure with the two runs of the track extending above the respective series of loom arches, as illustrated in Fig. 9, and in this case the inclined braces for the main posts extend transversely of and outwardly from the lines of the track. This arrangement, therefore, assists in promoting rigidity of the track structure, but whether the track be thus arranged in endless form or extending in a single straight line above the looms it is still subject to undesirable vibration.

In the preferred form of this invention, referring to Fig. 10, certain or all of the main posts 70 extending from the floor 2 to the supporting brackets 14 of the track have included therein a vertically resilient element, such as the thick rubber disks 71 or a spring, at the lower end of the post in a socket 72 bolted to the floor at 73. The resilient element 71 in the post acts to absorb vibration in or transmitted to the floor and this is further assisted by a slightly loose fit between the lower end of the post and the socket 72. An inclined brace 74 is secured at its lower end to the floor, preferably being pivoted at 75 on a shoe 76 bolted to the floor. At its upper end this brace is secured to a long sleeve 78 having a sliding fit on the post, being preferably pivoted at 79 to a collar 80 rigidly connected to the sleeve as by the set screws 81. Two collars 82, one above and one below the sleeve 78, are adjustably mounted on the post as by set screws 83.

The amount of vibration of the floor at the base of the post and at the base of the inclined brace usually differs and the extent of this difference varies substantially. The provision of the sliding sleeve and the adjustable collars performs the important functions of preventing any such differential in the vibration of the floor at these points from being transmitted to the track and the cleaner traveling thereon and of insuring the functioning of the inclined brace to prevent swaying or tipping of the post under all circumstances. If this differential is nil the collars are set up so as to permit no sliding movement of the sleeve and the post is rigidly braced. If any differential exists the collars are adjusted to allow an amount of sliding movement of the sleeve limited to that resulting from the differential occurring at the particular post and thus when this limit is reached one or the other of said collars acts to brace the post against swaying or tipping.

While the inclined braces are shown as pivoted at each end there may be sufficient yield in the structure to permit the limited required movement of the sleeves to take place even if rigid connections are used at 79 and 75.

The auxiliary posts which are preferably employed mounted on the loom arches and extending vertically up to the track are preferably constructed, as illustrated in Fig. 11. The auxiliary post 90 has included therein at its lower end a vertically resilient element shown as a thick rubber disk 91 and is seated in a socketed member 92 fitted over and clamped to the loom arch as by a set screw 93. At its upper end this post preferably extends through an aperture 94 in the track support 14 and is provided with a collar 95 adjustably secured as by the set screw 96 to the post and slightly spaced from the support 14. A loose fit is provided between the lower end of the post and the socketed member 92 and the space between the collar 95 and the support 14 is adjusted so that under normal conditions no vibration is transmitted from the loom arch to the track. When, however, the traveling cleaner passes over the loom its weight deflects the track slightly and the collar 95 limits this deflection. While some vibration might then pass from the loom to the track it would be of limited amount and only momentary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A traveling cleaner mounted for travel above a plurality of textile looms which cleaner comprises a frame, a casing, a depending nozzle connected to the casing, a fan in the casing and a motor therefor acting during the travel of the cleaner to draw air from the room into the casing and to discharge a column of air through the nozzle down upon the loom and the yarns, a pivotal connection between the casing and the nozzle, and means acting during the travel of the cleaner continuously to oscillate the nozzle to cause the column of air discharging therefrom to sweep back and forth over the looms.

2. A traveling cleaner having a frame arranged for mounting on a track over a plurality of alined textile looms and provided with wheels traveling on the track, which includes a casing mounted on the frame, a depending nozzle connected to the casing, a fan in the casing and a motor therefor acting during the travel of the cleaner along the track to draw air from the room into the casing and to discharge a column of air through the nozzle down upon the loom and the yarns, a pivotal connection between the casing and the nozzle, a lever fulcrumed on the frame, a link connecting one end of the lever and the nozzle, and means acting upon the other end of the lever continuously to rock the lever during the travel of the cleaner and thereby to oscillate the nozzle to cause the column of air discharging therefrom to sweep back and forth over the looms.

3. A traveling cleaner as defined in claim 2 in which the means acting upon the other end of the lever is an eccentric mounted on one of the wheels.

4. A traveling cleaner as defined in claim 1 together with fixed means mounted at a predetermined point in the travel of the cleaner acting to cooperate with the oscillating means to lessen temporarily the range of oscillation of the nozzle to avoid undesired impingement of the discharging air upon a specific area of the loom.

5. A traveling cleaner comprising a frame mounted to travel upon a track, a casing on the frame having a depending nozzle, means for supporting the track above and in alinement with a plurality of alined looms, a fan carried on the frame and acting during the travel of the cleaner to draw air into the casing and discharge a column of air through the nozzle down upon the loom and the yarns, a pivotal connection between the casing and the nozzle, a link pivoted at one end to the nozzle, and means connected to the other end of the link acting continuously to reciprocate the link during the travel of the cleaner and thereby to oscillate the nozzle transversely of the direction of travel to cause the column of air discharging therefrom to sweep over the loom.

6. The combination as defined in claim 5 in which the cleaner is provided with wheels traveling upon the track and in which the means acting to reciprocate the link comprises a crank pin on one of the wheels connected to the said other end of the link.

7. An automatic cleaning system for an alined series of looms having frame arches comprising a track extending above and in alinement with the arches, a loom cleaner mounted on the track having means for propelling it along the track, having a nozzle, and having means for discharging a blast of air through the nozzle down upon the looms as it travels, aseries of posts for the track mounted upon the floor upon which the looms are supported, a series of auxiliary posts for the track mounted upon the arches of the looms, and vertically yielding means associated with each post acting to diminish transmission of vibration of the fioor and looms to the track.

8. An automatic cleaning system for an alined series of looms comprising a track extending "above and in alinement with the looms, a loorn cleaner mounted on the track having means for propelling it along the track, having a nozzle, and having means for discharging a blast of air through the nozzle down upon the looms as it travels, a series of posts for the track mounted upon the floor upon which the looms are supported, a pair of spaced collars adjustably mounted on each post midway thereof, a sleeve mounted to slide on each post between the collars, and an inclined brace connected to each sleeve and to the floor with the collars adjusted on the respective posts to permit, when the amount of vibration of the floor at the base of the post and at the base of the brace differs, an amount of sliding movement of the sleeve limited to that resulting from said difference and when said limit is reached to brace the post against tipping.

9. An automatic cleaning system having the construction defined in claim 8, together with a vertically resilient element included in each of the said posts.

10. An automatic cleaning system for an alined series of looms having frame arches comprising a track extending above and in alinement with the arches, a loom cleaner mounted on the track having means for propelling it along the track, having a nozzle, and having means for discharging a blast of air through the nozzle down upon the looms as it travels, a series of posts for the track mounted upon the floor upon which the looms are supported, a series of auxiliary posts for the track mounted upon the arches of the looms, apertures in the track through which some of the posts pass and a collar on each of said posts spaced below said track, the said elements acting to permit vertical yielding of the track into engagement with the collar as the cleaner travels thereover and to prevent direct vertical transmission of vibration from the post to the track at other times.

11. An automatic cleaning system having the construction defined in claim 10, together with a vertically resilient element included in each post.

12. A traveling loom cleaner system for two series of looms and arranged with the series in parallelism, comprising an endless track extending above the looms and in alinement therewith, a loom cleaner having means for propelling it along the track and for discharging a confined blast of air down upon the looms as it travels, a series of posts for the track mounted upon the fioor upon which the looms are mounted, a pair of spaced collars adjustably mounted on each post midway thereof, a sleeve mounted to slide on each post between the collars, and an inclined brace connected to each sleeve and to the floor with the said collars adjusted in position on the respective posts to permit, when the amount of vibration of the floor at the base of the post and at the base of the brace differs, an amount of sliding movement of the sleeve limited to that resulting from said difference and when said limit is reached to brace the post against tipping.

13. An automatic cleaning system having the construction defined in claim 12, together with a vertically resilient element included in each of the posts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 680,280 Roesser Aug. 13, 1901 1,447,418 Kenney et al. Mar. 6, 1923 1,517,961 Cummings et al Dec. 2, 1924 1,920,768 Smith Aug. 1, 1933 2,516,475 Miller et al July 25, 1950 2,610,349 Moore Sept. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 53 8,967 Germany Nov. 23, 1931 

